There are also warnings of disruption to trains, with affected operators including c2c, Greater Anglia and Stansted Express, ScotRail, Southeastern, Southern, Thameslink and Gatwick Express, South Western Railway, TfL Rail and London Overground, according to National Rail Enquiries.

UK Weather: Beast from the East freeze – In pictures

Temperatures plummeted again overnight, with Benson in Oxfordshire recording a low of -10C (14F).

Police and fire services across the UK reported having to rescue stranded vehicles and deal with crashes as several more centimetres of snow fell in some parts.

Commuters on the London Overground waiting for trains in the snow yesterday evening

Several roads were also closed during the night and into the morning due to treacherous driving conditions.

Heavy snow fell across London and the UK on Tuesday, with even more expected (PA)

One of the worst affected places was the North East, with some roads being left impassable.

County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service tweeted that officers had been dealing with accidents in the “terrible weather“, including one involving a classic Mini which had crashed perilously close to a cliff.

The latest travel

Due to a signal failure at West Kensington commuters on the District line are being advised to seek other routes of travel. Tickets are being accepted on local buses and South Western Railway.

There is no service between Hainault and Woodford on the Central line and there are severe delays on the rest of the line due to faulty trains.

The DLR has been disrupted due to a track fault at Westferry, commuters can expect long waits between Bank and Lewisham, between Canary Wharf and Poplar and between Tower Gateway and Beckton.

On the Piccadilly line a signal failure has caused severe hold ups between Acton Town and Heathrow Airport and between Rayners Lane and Uxbridge. Passengers can expect minor delays on the rest of the line.

Due to an absence of train operators there are minor delays on the Waterloo and City line.

Roads

Several roads across the country have been left impassable following heavy snowfall overnight, forcing police to close large sections of major routes.

In Yorkshire, the A61 has been shut between Harrogate and Skipton due to the conditions, while further north, in Durham, the A66 was closed between the A1M and A685.

The A1 in Durham was also closed between Scotch Corner and Catterick after a lorry jack-knifed.

Highways England said the A1 in Cambridgeshire had to be shut due to severe weather, between the A1M and A6121 at Tinwell.

The closure caused long tailbacks overnight.

In Norfolk, police also reported roads being blocked due to lorries and cars becoming stuck in the snow, including the A11 southbound at Wymondham and the A143 at Haddiscoe.

Trains

National Rail has warned of further disruption to services on Wednesday.

TfL Rail, London Overground, c2c, Southeastern, Greater Anglia, Southern, South Western Railway and ScotRail all warned of the potential for cancellations or delays to services.

Passengers were advised to check with before travelling.

Great Northern was expecting to run a normal service, weather permitting.

Isle of Man Transport tweeted that all services were currently suspended.

Flights

Some flights have been cancelled from Heathrow, including a number of British Airways services.

London City Airport also said there would be some disruption to services, while Newcastle Airport said there could be some delays while the runway was cleared of snow.

Gatwick Airport said overnight that flights were arriving and departing as usual, but recommended passengers check with their airline ahead of travelling.

East Midlands Airport said it was fully operational, but that it would be monitoring weather updates throughout the day.

The A66 in Durham was closed between the A1M and the A685, while in Cambridgeshire, the A1 was shut both ways between the A1M and the A6121.

Cambridgeshire Police said conditions had caused long tailbacks, and a snowplough under police escort was deployed to get traffic moving.

In Dartford, the A282 had to be closed temporarily due to vehicles losing traction on the QEII bridge, while in Kent, roads police worked through the night to free several lorries which had become stuck in the snow.

Forecasters predict the snow and freezing temperatures will not be letting up any time soon, prompting the Met Office to extend some of its weather warnings.

An amber warning for much of the north of England and Scotland is in place until 6pm, while another covering London, the East Midlands and the east of England is in force until 10am.

A yellow warning covering vast swathes of the UK runs until just before midnight.

Forecaster Helen Roberts said: “The capital is waking up to quite a covering of snow this morning, as is much of the east coast.

“We’ve seen a couple of hours of really heavy snow in London, which was enough to give a few centimetres. Further north has seen even more snow, and the disruption is likely to continue throughout the morning in these areas.

“It will also be another bitterly cold day – even colder than yesterday, with a stronger wind chill.”

This incredible image shows the snow storm passing over London (Twitter/NPASLondon)

Long delays on bus, rail and air travel, plus disruption to phone networks, are likely occur throughout the day, with the strong winds also leading to the drifting of snow.

Dozens of schools in Scotland will remain closed on Wednesday, including all schools in East Renfrewshire, East Dunbartonshire, Fife, Stirling and Fulbrick.

People walk along Bankside in the snow in London (PA)

Rail companies have warned delays may continue into Friday.

Southeastern said it was planning to run a normal service but that some rush-hour services would be altered and it would look to introduce an emergency timetable “if conditions deteriorate significantly”.

British Airways said the weather was likely to continue disrupting flights throughout the week.

It will proactively reduce flight schedules at Heathrow Airport “for several hours during the worst of the weather” on Wednesday.

Flights for later on in the week are “under regular review”.

It is expected that the mercury could plummet to minus 15C (5F) by midweek where there is snow on the ground, rivalling temperatures forecast for parts of northern Norway and Iceland.

From Thursday, forecasters predict that another weather system, Storm Emma, will bring blizzards, gales and sleet as it meets the chilly “Beast from the East” later this week.

The storm, named by the Portuguese Met Service, will move north through Europe and is due to hit the UK on Thursday and Friday, and will be “significantly disruptive”, bringing the risk of power cuts and transport delays.